Relentless (Elisabeth Reinhardt Book 1) by Nancy Alexander Page B
Authors: Nancy Alexander
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Elisabeth Reinhardt, PhD: Elisabeth Reinhardt, PhD
Date: 11/10/2012__________________________________________
CHAPTER 11
THE HUNTERS
Chester Rugger ran a hand through his thick blonde curls. He leaned back in his desk chair, put his feet up on his desk and stared intently at the walls. One displayed a magnetic board cluttered with pictures and words, organized into categories by date; it spanned the length of the conference room. The other wall held a huge detailed map of the United States, peppered with push pins. Five red, ten green and dozens of blue ones jutted out. The busy utilitarian room was filled with long tables surrounded by chairs, loaded with computer screens and stacked with files. Chester knew he was missing something and it was right in front of his eyes. He frowned and rubbed his eyes, clicking his ball point pen rhythmically, he read the walls for the hundredth time. He’d been there all night, drinking coffee, reviewing reports, receiving faxes, checking emails and staring at those walls. Those dammed walls had become the bane of his existence.
The team of officers forming the core of the Multi-State Task Force (MSTF) was due in about 15 minutes and he was stumped as to how to proceed. Straight ‘A’ student at Putnam County High School and captain of the football team, leading them to state championships for two years running, Chester Rugger was not used to being stumped. He worked his way through the New River Community and Technical College in Beckley, W. VA, returning home upon graduation to marry his high school sweetheart. He was a clear thinking man who knew what he wanted and how to get it. The proud father of two little girls, Chester was what the town thought of as an ‘up and comer.’ “That boy will make something of himself one day,” they would say, “maybe even become Mayor.” That was how his community saw him, a hero in the making. No one was surprised when he became the Chief of Police. Chester Rugger was proud and determined. He cared about his family and his community. He would stop at nothing to keep them safe. Since the day that Rebecca Hallowell’s body was found in his jurisdiction in 2011, he had been obsessed with catching her killer.
Using all the technology available to a rural police department like his, he learned that there had been 5 killings with nearly identical MO’s in West Virginia and neighboring states. He had organized this Task Force so all concerned law enforcement officers could work together. This morning , they were going to meet for the first time with agents from the BAU, the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI. They were sure they had a multi-state serial killer or killers on their hands, probably at least two of them. It seemed all these killings had the same MO. The problem was that Task Force members were used to working in smaller jurisdictions and organizing a manhunt on such a grand scale and crossing state lines was a job for the FBI. The Task Force had done all the preliminary work, assembling information about each individual victim and crime scene sufficient to determine to their satisfaction that they were dealing with the same perpetrator/s. Now they were at a cross-road. It had been a difficult decision but Chester believed it was the right one.
Lou Fairmont, the head of the BAU team assigned to work with th e Task Force had been fully briefed en route to the meeting. In his late 50’s, he had seen enough gore and misery to last several lifetimes. A few months from an early retirement, he was ready to hand the team lead over to his second in command, Marie Del Monte, a resolute woman in her 40’s. The third member of the team Will Schmidt, a 28 year old computer genius, was unequaled at decoding information and finding obscure patterns in the data. The BAU team had been working together for 2 years. They were effective and goal-directed. Fairmont took
Elisabeth Reinhardt, PhD: Elisabeth Reinhardt, PhD
Date: 11/10/2012__________________________________________
CHAPTER 11
THE HUNTERS
Chester Rugger ran a hand through his thick blonde curls. He leaned back in his desk chair, put his feet up on his desk and stared intently at the walls. One displayed a magnetic board cluttered with pictures and words, organized into categories by date; it spanned the length of the conference room. The other wall held a huge detailed map of the United States, peppered with push pins. Five red, ten green and dozens of blue ones jutted out. The busy utilitarian room was filled with long tables surrounded by chairs, loaded with computer screens and stacked with files. Chester knew he was missing something and it was right in front of his eyes. He frowned and rubbed his eyes, clicking his ball point pen rhythmically, he read the walls for the hundredth time. He’d been there all night, drinking coffee, reviewing reports, receiving faxes, checking emails and staring at those walls. Those dammed walls had become the bane of his existence.
The team of officers forming the core of the Multi-State Task Force (MSTF) was due in about 15 minutes and he was stumped as to how to proceed. Straight ‘A’ student at Putnam County High School and captain of the football team, leading them to state championships for two years running, Chester Rugger was not used to being stumped. He worked his way through the New River Community and Technical College in Beckley, W. VA, returning home upon graduation to marry his high school sweetheart. He was a clear thinking man who knew what he wanted and how to get it. The proud father of two little girls, Chester was what the town thought of as an ‘up and comer.’ “That boy will make something of himself one day,” they would say, “maybe even become Mayor.” That was how his community saw him, a hero in the making. No one was surprised when he became the Chief of Police. Chester Rugger was proud and determined. He cared about his family and his community. He would stop at nothing to keep them safe. Since the day that Rebecca Hallowell’s body was found in his jurisdiction in 2011, he had been obsessed with catching her killer.
Using all the technology available to a rural police department like his, he learned that there had been 5 killings with nearly identical MO’s in West Virginia and neighboring states. He had organized this Task Force so all concerned law enforcement officers could work together. This morning , they were going to meet for the first time with agents from the BAU, the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI. They were sure they had a multi-state serial killer or killers on their hands, probably at least two of them. It seemed all these killings had the same MO. The problem was that Task Force members were used to working in smaller jurisdictions and organizing a manhunt on such a grand scale and crossing state lines was a job for the FBI. The Task Force had done all the preliminary work, assembling information about each individual victim and crime scene sufficient to determine to their satisfaction that they were dealing with the same perpetrator/s. Now they were at a cross-road. It had been a difficult decision but Chester believed it was the right one.
Lou Fairmont, the head of the BAU team assigned to work with th e Task Force had been fully briefed en route to the meeting. In his late 50’s, he had seen enough gore and misery to last several lifetimes. A few months from an early retirement, he was ready to hand the team lead over to his second in command, Marie Del Monte, a resolute woman in her 40’s. The third member of the team Will Schmidt, a 28 year old computer genius, was unequaled at decoding information and finding obscure patterns in the data. The BAU team had been working together for 2 years. They were effective and goal-directed. Fairmont took
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